A typical pouch is shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 and indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The pouch 1 is made of opposing sheets of plastic film 2, 3 that are sealed to each other, such as by heat sealing, along their marginal edge portions to define an internal chamber 4 therebetween. The pouch 1 includes a port defined by a rigid tube or outflow fitment 5 that is sealed between the opposing marginal edges of the films 2, 3. The rigid tube 5 includes a closure (not shown) to seal the internal chamber 4 from the ambient atmosphere.
One of the drawbacks of such pouches, especially those that hang to deliver products to patients, need to be consecutively connected to tubing, and/or need to be fully emptied, is that the outflow fitment is somewhat circular and has to be sealed in between the front and back sheets of the pouch. Accordingly, it can be difficult to obtain a fluid-tight and/or a gas-tight seal at the junction of the opposing marginal edge portions of the films 2,3 and the rigid tube or outflow fitment 5. These junctions are located at diametrically opposite sides of the tube 5, involve the intersection of three components and materials, and present a risk of forming a leak at one or both of these junctions at the time of manufacture or thereafter. Leakage at the pouch/tubing junction can be the most frequent source of leakage in hanging pouches. In order to avoid the creation of such leaks, the sealing fixture must be precisely aligned. Such leaks can be formed by extremely tiny holes defining diameters in the micron range, and therefore can be difficult to detect with typical quality control tests, such as burst pressure or helium detection tests. Yet another drawback of such pouches and other prior art pouches is that the fitments are sealed to the pouches at the edge portions, but the fitments do not extend contiguous with, and are not sealed to the side walls of the pouches spaced away from the edge portions. This further reduces the integrity of the seals, and the ability to prevent leakage.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome one or more of the above-described drawbacks and/or disadvantages.